Q&A Thursday - Interview with Elle Beauregard

Today's guest is YA writer, Elle Beauregard!

Thanks for stopping by Elle!

Enjoy & Comment

Why did you start writing and when did you decide to go professional?

I first attempted to write novel length fiction as a Sophomore in high school. I was sitting in my algebra class on the first day of school and I was so depressed that the summer had come to an end.  And then this idea came to me--what if people tried to live in the Seattle bus tunnels?  Which, automatically spurred the question, why are they living in the bus tunnels to begin with?  I flipped open my notebook and started writing.  What came out, after some months, was the first draft of a book I called, simply, Book 1.  I wrote a sequel, as well, and began outlining a third but didn't finish it.

Years later, as an adult, I began re-writing that first book out of a desperate need for something to do that fed me creatively.  I let a friend and my sister read it and they suggested a tried to get it published.  So now, many queries and subsequent requests for fulls and partials later, the publishing industry is changing so dramatically that I'm not sure what's going to happen next.  So I decided that, instead of continuing to wait for that dream legacy deal, I'd take matters into my own hands and become an indie-author.              

What is the worst thing you’ve written, how did you learn or know it was bad, and what did you learn from it?

                

There is a manuscript that I have been trying to re-write for more than 2 years. My first draft of it was awful.  I’ve  never written something that came out feeling SO far away from what I had intended.  It has gone through lots of re-writing, re-thinking, re-hashing, which is unusual for me. The good news, though, is that it’s getting closer to what I envision every time I run it back through the gauntlet.    So I’ve learned to be patient; if something isn’t flowing, then it’s not the day to be writing it.  With this story in particular, I’ve also learned that you really do have to write what you know.   

Do you write in more than one genre? Which ones and which do you like the best?

            

I write in the Young Adult and New Adult genres.  I like the opportunity and hope inherent in younger characters that have their whole lives ahead of them, and I like writing characters that have room to grow and learn.  But Young Adult is sometimes stifling because the popular industry belief is that teenagers shouldn’t read about certain adult issues (I say “popular industry believe,” because I don’t necessarily agree with it.)  Teenagers become adults (as teenagers are apt to doing) so I often find my YA characters and their stories developing into NA manuscripts by the end of a series. 

Author's Bio: Elle wrote her first novel at the age of 16. Then she wrote a sequel. More than ten years later, those first manuscripts have been re-written and are accompanied by many companions. An indie author with imagination and heart, Elle writes smart, compelling Young Adult and New Adult contemporary fantasies that feature strong female leads and real relationships.

Book blurb:

When Leah’s inability to control her new-found skill nearly sends her into a full blown shifter-tantrum in front of the entire high school, even she has to admit that the last week of school is no place for a new shapeshifter.

Social media & Web links:

Buy and review SHIFT: www.smashwords.com/books/view/53300

Find me on Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/ellebeauregard

Like me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ellebeauregard.writer

Follow me on Twitter @ellebeauregard